Set Fire to the Rain
by Dulcedecorumest
Summary: Six months after Faith left things badly with Dean in Reno, Nevada
1. Chapter 1

**Fic**: {Title: **Set Fire to the Rain**}

**Fandom**: BtVS/AtS/ SPN  
><strong>Verse: Gimme Shelter<strong>  
><strong>Characters<strong>: Faith Lehane, mentions of Giles, Buffy, Dean Winchester, John Winchester  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> None  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 758  
><strong>Beta<strong>: None so mistakes are 110% mine.  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> Post BtVS Chosen, AtS Not Fade Away, SPN Season 1, Gimme Shelter Verse  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: For the winter_of_faith LJ community (which y'all should go check out)...and I've never been to Miami so I apologise if there is any inaccuracies.  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Six months after Faith left things badly with Dean in Reno, Nevada

* * *

><p>Miami, Florida<p>

December 2005

Faith sat down heavily on the only empty bench at the Miami-Dade bus depot.

She was physically and mentally tired.

She'd just staked a nest of vamps hiding in one of the alleys near the depot. Flexing scraped already-healing knuckles, she ran her right hand through her tangled hair, her left hand simultaneously pulling her leather jacket closer together. It was uncharacteristically chilly.

She tried not to think about the last time she had been in Florida. So _of course_ that was all she could think of.

She had made a pit-stop in this tropical Hell after she'd taken a good swipe at Kakistos' eye in Boston.

She wondered how in retrospect, despite the bone-crushing fear of capture, rape, torture and being killed...1998 had been a much simpler time. Back then she had foolishly believed that maybe, if she survived (translation, hid well enough away from) Kakistos, she'd start a new life somewhere shiny and different.

_Nothing grey and damp like Boston, but nowhere as wicked hot as Florida either of course._

Nah, she'd thought about going somewhere where she could maybe have a sister Slayer who'd watch her back.

California, the land of Buffy Summers.

_Rumor had it girlfriend had taken out a demon with a mutherfucking rocket launcher!_

Now that was a girl Faith could roll with.

_And California was where they made 90210, so how bad could it be? _

She'd be meeting hot actors like Jared Leto, and staking vamps, raising a whole lotta hell…

_Maybe even get to blow shit up Hollywood style, like Buffy did.'_

And she'd be safe. And she would have a life. Maybe Buffy's folks would take her in and she'd get a family too.

Fastforward eight years, and here she was _back_ in Florida, still alive but facing a different kind of debiliating fear and even more loneliness. As if on cue the baby currently squatting in her uterus kicked and Faith's hand instinctively went to her abdomen. Hell she'd wrestled alligators in the nude, deep in swamp territory but it sure as shit had felt a whole lot easier than what she was going through now.

"Can't catch a muthafucking break," she muttered to herself.

The baby kicked again, harder this time and a begrudging smile of wonderment ghosted her lips.

Dean Winchester's kid had spunk.

Six months ago when she had walked out on him in Reno she had not known she was knocked up and now he was gone, like she had made sure he'd be. Yet _she_ was the one stuck with a permanent souvenir.

Faith sighed to herself, you could take the fucked up trailer trash Slayer out of Boston but you couldn't take the fucked up trailer trash destiny out of the Slayer.

A homeless man shuffled past and Faith tensed in the pre-dawn light. Easing Betsy the knife Mayor Wilkins had given her, down her right jacket sleeve, Faith felt the reassuring weight in her palm and took a calming breath, ready for anything. Her other hand was clenched in a fist over her abdomen, ready to do serious damage if and when Betsy couldn't.

The bum walked over to darkened corner some 10 feet away from her and plopped down onto some tattered cardboard that was serving as a bed.

Faith let out a shaky laugh.

Damn pregnancy hormones had her jumpier than ever.

"And emotional as fuck too," she muttered as she patted her stomach comfortingly.

But the harmless near miss with the bum, had served as a reminder. Trips down memory lane could get someone killed. And she didn't need another innocent death on her hands when she was still trying to atone for the others.

Getting up off the bench, she pulled out the Council-supplied cellphone in her pocket and turned it on. Looking around her one last time she headed for the main road as she speed-dialed Giles. She needed to kill whatever it was he'd sent her here for and get the Hell outta Dodge.

She got his voicemail as her phone beeped with a message. Hanging up the call she opened the SMS.

**'_Old demon hunter friend of Wesley's needs your help with a Mohra demon nest. His name is John Winchester. He will contact you at __9 a.m._ _Miami__ time today. Keep your mobile on._'**

Faith nearly dropped the phone at the sight of John Winchester's name, and scowled at the sky as her heart started beating way too fast. Rereading the SMS again she snapped her phone shut.

"Well, sonofabitch."

- **TBC** -


	2. Chapter 2

**Fic**: {Title: Set Fire to the Rain} Part II

**Fandom**: BtVS/AtS/ SPN

**Verse**: Gimme Shelter

**Characters**: Faith Lehane, John Winchester, mentions of Giles, Dean Winchester, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce

**Pairings**: past Faith/Dean, hint of Faith and John if you squint (cause come on girl's got chemistry with a can of paint)

**Rating**: PG-13

**Word Count**: 641

**Beta**: None so mistakes are 110% mine.

**Spoilers**: Post **BtVS **Chosen, **AtS** Not Fade Away, SPN Season 1, Gimme Shelter-verse

**Author's Note**: I needed to re-establish Faith and John's dynamic. In Gimme Shelter, John met Faith after busting her and Dean out of county jail. Faith was her winning self without all the 'I'm a slayer baggage'. Six months later, it's a totally different story. The third and final part of this is much longer than the first two parts I promise.

**Summary**: These ficlets are for the **winter_of_faith** comm on livejournal.

* * *

><p>Faith sat down heavily on the double bed as she scoped out the Council supplied digs.<p>

"Well, it's cleaner than my motel in Sunnydale," she said to the empty room.

Situated in a not so shady area of Miami, with a solitary table and a bathroom, she decided to take a nap while she waited for John Winchester's call.

Pulling her leather jacket tighter around her, she kicked off her boots and burrowed into the pillows, her lids falling closed within seconds.

- xx -

Someone was in her room.

The awareness wrenched her out of a dreamless sleep and before she could even think about her next move, she'd dropped Betsy out of her jacket sleeve and tackled the intruder to the ground. Left arm crushed against the windpipe and Betsy an inch away from an eye socket.

John Winchester.

"Hey Daddy. You got a death wish or something?"

John couldn't speak and she smirked, holding her arm against his throat a few seconds longer before releasing him.

John gasped for air as Faith, standing a few feet away, watched him with detached curiosity. Still holding Betsy, she felt that long dormant but still familiar tingling in her body at the sense of power she had over another human life.

She sighed internally and wondered if she would ever be completely free of that darkness that danced at the periphery of everything she did.

John sat up carefully, eyes watering.

"I tracked your cellphone signal to this room, just to make sure it was you… can't be too careful," he choked out.

Faith shrugged, "Yeah well, when it comes to a Slayer the wrong kind of careful can get you got."

"Duly noted."

She tucked Betsy back up her sleeve, and picked up her boots, sitting on the edge of the bed, she put them on.

"Giles said something about a job?"

John got to his feet, keeping a safe distance between them.

"I found a nest of Mohra demons, and I need back-up and extra firepower. I tried to reach an old contact, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce but I got Mr. Giles. He told me Wesley's dead."

Faith flinched inwardly.

_When would the mention of Wesley stop giving her a knee-jerk reaction of guilt? Would she ever stop feeling indirectly responsible for his death? _

Outwardly she shrugged, "Yeah Wesley bit it more than a year ago."

John massaged his throat gingerly, "I'm sorry to hear that. He didn't make much of a hunter in the beginning but I bumped into him on a job in LA a couple years ago and he'd become a real pro."

Faith brushed off his comment.

"Yeah well, survive a couple blow out bashes courtesy of evil incorporated and even the softest sap will adapt."

John didn't respond, wondering at the tough as nails, take no prisoners woman in front of him. She bore little resemblance to the girl who'd stared into Dean's eyes with adoration less than half a year ago.

Silence reigned until Faith stood up purposefully, John couldn't help but tense.

Faith flashed him a predatory grin and gestured to the motel door, "So where's this nest at?"

John rose to his feet as Faith opened the door and stepped out.

"It's in a sewer tunnel near a water treatment plant, 'bout 20 minutes away from here."

He shut the door behind him as Faith studied him with an amused gleam in her eye.

"So let's motor Daddy."

"We're gonna need some more weapons," he stated as he walked towards his pick-up truck.

Faith fell into step beside him, "You got a sword, axe or long knife?"

"Yeah."

"Then we're good to go."

He threw her a startled glance, "There's at least five Mohra there."

"Yeah and you got a genuine Slayer with you."

She grinned at him, "I'm all the weapon you need."

-xxx-

TBC - The third and final part will be lengthy and very action-packed. I promise. Don't forget to feed the writer! ;-)


	3. Chapter 3

**Fic**: {Title: Set Fire to the Rain} Part III/IV  
><strong>Fandom<strong>: BtVS/AtS/ SPN  
><strong>Verse<strong>: Gimme Shelter  
><strong>Characters<strong>: Faith Lehane, John Winchester, mentions of Giles, Dean Winchester, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce

**Pairings**: past Faith/Dean, hint of Faith and John if you squint (cause come on girl's got chemistry with a can of paint)  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 641  
><strong>Beta<strong>: Noturbaby (_you rock_)  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: Post **BtVS **Chosen, **AtS** Not Fade Away, SPN Season 1, **Gimme Shelter-verse  
>Author's Note<strong>: I needed to re-establish Faith and John's dynamic. In Gimme Shelter, John met Faith after busting her and Dean out of county jail. Faith was her winning self without all the 'I'm a slayer baggage'. Six months later, it's a totally different story. The third and final part of this is much longer than the first two parts I promise.

**Summary**: Six months after Faith left things badly with Dean in Reno, Nevada she's sent on a job to help an old contact of Wesley's

~x~

Lips pressed into a thin line, John watched Faith stride into Wendy's, waited for her to be served before he floored the gas and sped away. He gripped his phone with white knuckles and dialled Rupert Giles' phone number.

Jabbing the speaker-phone button, John checked his rear-view mirror before veering off the exit and onto the highway.

He was ten minutes away from the sewer system housing the Mohra nest.

"Hello?"

"What the Hell kinda Mickey Mouse operation are you fucking running over there Rupert? I ask you to send me your toughest, most efficient, unattached Slayer and you send me a pregnant, unstable messed up kid instead?"

Giles sighed on the other end, "So I take it you and Faith did not get on?"

"She pulled a large sadistic knife on me!" John was still yelling.

"Ah you met Betsy."

"Betsy? Who's B- she named her knife… Jesus Christ what are you people doing to these kids?"

"Kids? Mr. Winchester, Faith is 22 years old. She has been fighting the forces of darkness since she was 15, I assure she is not a child and she hasn't been one for… well, quite frankly, longer than her years as a Slayer. Faith is tough, efficient and unattached which is why I was not aware of her condition. Other than Buffy, she is the only person I trust can help you with your Mohra problem at little or no personal cost to you or anybody else. Is that not what you asked for?"

John felt sufficiently chastised, but still wondered at the morality of having his son's super human, knocked up ex-girlfriend fight in as dangerous a situation as the Mohra nest.

"Jesus Christ Rupe, she's _pregnant_!"

"Yes, I am aware of that… I do apologise for not warning you about Faith's condition, but I only found out about it after I'd already sent her. And if you're shouting at me about this, I take it you didn't dare ask her about it."

John snorted, "She pulled a kn- _Betsy_ on me and nearly crushed my windpipe for sneaking up on her. No way was I gonna risk an angrier reaction."

Giles sighed again on the other end and let out a little chuckle, "I can appreciate your reticence. Where is she now?"

John pulled off the highway and steered his truck down a sandy slope, then angled the truck to drive parallel to the sewer system, parking at a large tunnel entrance.

"I ditched her at a Wendy's on the way to the nest."

"-"

"John, please."

"Alright then, _John_, I strongly advise you against facing a single Mohra, let alone a nest of them on your own."

John let out a sigh of his own, "I appreciate the heads up Rupe, but I couldn't go in with Faith, and a hunter friend of a friend is supposed to meet me here in a few minutes so it'll have to do… I aim for the red jewel in the middle of its forehead right?"

"Yes and don't get its blood on any open wound and keep them as far away from salt or salt water as possible because it's a source of strength."

"Roger that," John ended the call.

He stared at the sewer entrance and drummed his fingers absently on the steering wheel. Rufus would be here any minute.

He thought about Faith and the way she exuded so much attitude and confidence, yet she was clearly hurting inside. He'd never asked Dean for the details surrounding their split but when he had met his son in Oregon, the boy had looked positively miserable. A haunted anguish lacing his eyes whenever he thought John wasn't looking.

Now it turned out the girl was a Slayer. And pregnant. With Dean's kid. Presumably.

"Shit kids… what a fine mess you've got yourselves in," John said aloud.

From the rear-view he spotted a beat up blue pick-up as it veered off the road, and drove down the incline towards him.

He made sure his pistol was within reach and warily watched the vehicle approach. John got out of the truck, popping open his secret compartment in the back; he swung a shotgun over his shoulder and turned to watch Rufus stop a few inches from his feet.

He grinned in greeting, the smile dying when his eyes registered the brunette sitting next to Rufus.

Faith, leather jacket buttoned up to the top, dark grey hoodie sticking out around the neckline, hopped out of the truck with a fake smile that looked dangerously close to shattering into a million brittle pieces.

John noted that if you didn't know any better she just looked over-dressed.

Rufus pulled his keys out of the ignition and grinned at John, "I got us a genuine _Slayer_ to help. Found her at a Wendy's putting away food that'd feed a football team!"

Faith strode over to John and held out her hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Faith."

John shook her hand dumbly, and then whipped his head round to scowl at Rufus, releasing her hand.

"How'd you know she was a Slayer?"

Rufus snorted, "I'm a hunter, and what kinda hunter would I be if I didn't know about the second most famous living Slayer! Recognised her right off the bat."

Faith ambled over to John's weapons box and let out a low whistle of appreciation as she grabbed a Norse blade. He had bought it earlier in the week after he'd learned it would help him fight the Mohra.

Faith took a few steps away from John and Rufus and swung the blade around in a graceful arc. With a childlike grin she twirled the heavy sword like a baton, making elaborate flourishes in the air.

The two hunters watched in awe as she tossed the heavy weapon in the air, letting it chop through the air like the blades of a chopper then catching it again. She palmed the leather handle and with feet planted shoulder-width apart tilted her head at them.

"Well? The Mohra aren't getting any less evil, let's do this."

John and Rufus started moving.

John explained what he'd seen and where exactly in the sewer tunnel the nest was located. He found himself watching Faith as she nodded intently at his explanations.

Sword still in hand, she strode to the entrance and sniffed the air before taking a step back and hauled herself up over the entrance with one hand.

Rufus let out an impressed whistle.

They watched as she walked above the seven-foot high sewer piping, turning to gauge the distance between the sewers and the Atlantic Ocean.

The wind coming from the ocean blew harshly.

Norse blade glinting in the sun, John observed that Faith looked like a warrior with her hair flowing in the breeze.

She walked over to the edge and before either man could react, jumped off the ledge to land nonchalantly in front of them.

"Mohra don't like to come out during the day, for obvious reasons… so now's a good time to catch 'em. Their blood comes into contact with any bodily fluids and you're in trouble. I know it has regenerative powers but Mohra's are demons, which means, there's always a catch. You two stick together, and no cowboy shit."

Both men nodded in agreement.

Faith could tell John wanted to protest, man was used to giving orders not taking them but she did not care.

With a curt nod she turned towards the sewer entrance and muttered, "Great, now let's get this over with."

~x~

Figuring the Mohra would most likely be found nearer to their power source. Faith split up with John and Rufus, pointing them in the direction that smelled less like salt-water.

She directed them casually knowing that if she gave the decision any import both men would protest. _She _was a Slayer after all.

Hefting John's Norse blade she suppressed the waves of nausea wrought on by the stench of the sewer-system.

'_Damn pregnancy hormones_.'

With a self-deprecating shrug she steeled herself. She could literally smell three Mohra up ahead.

'_Slayer senses mixed with pregnancy hormones are good for something after all.' _

Based on John's estimation, between him and Rufus they had two to deal with.

There was an intersection of four pipes, which formed some sort of chamber. She spied three demons in a huddle and with a sharp battle cry, threw herself into the fray.

~x~

"So how'd you know the Slayer?"

Avoiding a puddle of something questionable as they navigated towards an opening in the tunnel, John tossed Rufus a sharp look.

"Who says I do."

"Come on now, this isn't my first rodeo. I am a hunter after all. That makes me a supernatural detective."

John's nostrils flared slightly as he suppressed a grin at Rufus's remark.

"I met her...a while back. Thought she was just a normal civilian...then I bumped into her again this morning after Rupert Giles referred her for this job."

"Bet you got the shock of your life," Rufus snorted.

"Yeah, she pulled a scary-ass knife on me in the blink of an eye."

"Unh huh, I knew a Slayer way back and it never ceases to amaze me how strong and fast they are."

"You knew a Slayer?"

"Biblically…Yeah her name was Nikki...we was kids back then...girl had moves Hollywood has only dreamed of."

John stopped, "how come you've never mentioned this before?"

"She got killed in the line of duty... Girl didn't make it to 20."

"What was it?"

"Vampire, called William the Bloody aka Spike. Worst part was I wudn't even there."

"Damn. I've read and heard about this William the Bloody… a real evil sonofabitch."

Rufus's left hand curled into a fist, "Yeah. We'd broken up... I freaked after I saw her in action once. She took on a 7 foot tall demon and killed it like she was breaking a bread stick."

Rufus swallowed convulsively, "turned out we had a kid, a boy...never met him."

John started walking again and Rufus followed suit.

"That how you became a hunter?"

"Yeah. Was too little too late though...for Nikki and our boy."

"You tried finding him?"

"In the beginning, yeah. Then when I saw the life I was leading, I figured he was better off where he was with Nikki's Watcher."

John nodded quietly and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the roar of a Mohra as it picked Rufus up by the throat and tossed him against the wall.

~x~

Crouched next to a Mohra corpse, Faith pulled the Norse blade out of green goo and wiped it on her thigh. Tiredly, she flexed her right hand. Damn demon had scratched her badly. Thank God it hadn't bled on her.

Her chest expanded as she gulped in deep breaths, quashing the urge to vomit. The smell was really doing a number on her.

The baby kicked vigorously.

Her sword-hand strayed to her belly and she gave it a firm pat.

"Sorry kiddo."

With a pained smile she used the wall for support as she rose to her feet.

"Goddamn it, I just need a couple hundred hours of uninterrupted sleep and I'll be five by five."

Vibrations signaling the sound of a body colliding with a pipe reverberated over her head and Faith let out a curse.

Launching into a run she headed back the way she came, praying that she wasn't too late to save Dean's father and his friend. She'd never forgive herself. And neither would Dean, of that she was sure.

~x~

Halfway down the other tunnel, Faith saw a body hit the wall in front of her with a sickening thud. Hunkering down, she felt for a pulse giving a sigh of relief. Rufus was passed out but still alive.

John hit the wall, but he was still tenaciously holding onto the enraged Mohra that was using him as a human sledgehammer. Faith fluidly rose to her feet, sword in hand as the Mohra began to taunt John.

"Azazael has come to collect, nothing you do will save your spawn. The End of Days are here and he is one of our leaders."

Spotting an opportunity she drop-kicked the demon and John fell to the floor with a grunt.

The Mohra turned glowing eyes on Faith and roared.

"Slayer! The life you carry inside will make you weak when the final battle begins. There is no challenge in fighting a warrior that is already crippled."

Faith shrugged, "Shit happens."

The Mohra surged toward her and she delivered a spinning kick, finishing off the blow by smashing the hilt of her sword in its forehead and then beheading it.

She turned to John and helped him up, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, vision's a little blurry but I'll live."

"Good. How many are left?"

John picked up Rufus's discarded samurai sword, "We killed one but there's three more."

As he finished speaking there was a collective roar behind them as three demons rushed them.

Faith snatched Rufus's sword, shoved John back and using the two blades turned around and stabbed two Mohra in the forehead, smashing their jewels.

The remaining Mohra punched her in the face and tried to pick her up, she feinted to the left, ducked and rolled under it. Kicking the samurai sword in John's direction she dodged, then blocked a few blows. The Mohra punched her left shoulder and she swung her sword arm in an arc, using the hilt to punch it through the demon's forehead.

John watched her flex her shoulder then wipe the blood trickling down her nose with the back of her hand. She gave him a curt nod to indicate she was okay before striding deeper into the tunnel. He followed her on jelly-like legs trying to process the prowess she had displayed without even breaking a sweat.

"Well lookie-lookie what we have here," Faith called out.

John shook off his vertigo and followed Faith to an intersection of pipes, there was a nest of Mohra eggs glowing in a pool of salt water.

"Jesus."

"Yeah, we're gonna need lighter fuel and matches."

"I've got some in the truck."

"I'll wait here, in case anymore Mommy and Daddy Mohra are lurking around."

John opened his mouth to argue and Faith gave him a cynical raise of one eyebrow.

For the first time in his life John realized he had no rational objection he could make. And he prided himself in his ability to be rational no matter what the situation.

"Alright, but try not to get killed while I'm gone."

Faith grinned, "Sure thing Daddy."

John rolled his eyes at her, begrudgingly allowing a fleeting smile to cross his features. He turned away then stopped to give her shoulder a firm squeeze. She didn't acknowledge the gesture and after a brief pause, John let his hand slip away, going back into the tunnels.

There were a few stains on the wall but all traces of the Mohra Faith had killed were already gone. He picked up a woozy Rufus and hefted the unconscious man over his shoulders and staggering back to the truck.

As the sounds of John's retreat grew fainter and fainter, Faith let out a sigh.

'_Always in the dark. Always alone._'

The baby kicked and Faith's eyes teared up, letting out a wet half chuckle, "Okay so not alone, alone, I got you babe… for another 4 and a half months at least."

Staring at the eggs she bit her lip, fist tightening around the weapon in her hand.

Blinking away the salt, she lifted her sword and waded into the calf-deep pool. With a pained cry she brought the blade down on the two dozen pumpkin sized eggs, some of them splitting open to reveal fetal Mohra with tiny jewels in their foreheads. Wave after wave of indescribable emotion rose inside as she destroyed them all.

John came running down the tunnel as he heard Faith's anguished cries and the sound of water splashing. When he saw the pool he stopped in shock. Faith was kneeling at the edge of the pool, hair stringy and eyes dark. Rising, she wiped her sword on her soaked jeans and gave him a noncommittal shrug.

"I got bored."

Taking the lighter fluid and the matches from him, she poured it over the chunky goo that was eggshells, Mohra fetal matter, blood and sea water. She struck a match and set the entire mess ablaze. Turning away she headed down the dark passage.

John stared at the pool then back at Faith's retreating figure, he was startled to realize his mouth was agape.

~x~

Faith stepped out of the sewer system covered in blood and bits of stuff Rufus did not want to examine too closely.

"What the hell happened to you?"

John brought up the rear, a concerned scowl on his face.

Faith shook wet hair out of her eyes and grinned, "Mission accomplished, that's what happened."

She opened the passenger door of Rufus' car and hopped in with fake pep.

"Let's roll!"

John and Rufus traded worried looks as they got behind their respective steering wheels.

~x~

John watched Faith as she drew the curtains of his motel room shut. He was torn between sympathy and fear.

She was the same age as Sammy, but tougher than Dean, and his firstborn was pretty damn tough. Definitely stronger than his old man, boy just didn't know it yet.

What she had done to those Mohra eggs before burning them was definitely a cry for help. But John was pretty sure he had no idea how to help this girl, was not sure it was even possible.

Faith approached him and tilted her head to the side as she shrugged her leather jacket off.

"Come on Daddy let's do this."

John tensed and drew back in suspicion. Faith graced him with an empty grin.

"I'm pretty sure that cut above your eyebrow needs stitches, so you want my help or not?"

He forced his muscles to relax and gave her a weak smile.

"Yeah sure, lemme get my needle and thread."

She leaned down and placed two hands on his shoulders. John instinctively tried to resist the contact but found himself unable to move as she exerted more pressure.

'Damn Slayer strength!'

"Relax, just tell me where it is and I'll get it. You were favoring your left side back in the tunnel and I smell blood, might wanna take your shirt off so I can assess the damage."

He gestured toward the duffel bag by the bathroom door and Faith winked at him before grabbing the bag and dumping its contents on the bed.

"Come on Pops, shirt off before I change my mind."

John reluctantly began to remove his jacket.

Faith who had located the needle and thread, pulled the room's solitary chair closer to John, kicked the bathroom door open to get some light, then sat down.

She watched John from the corner of her eye as she fumbled for her lighter then sterilized the needle. Propping one foot on the bed, she leaned back so the chair was resting only on its hind legs and threaded the needle.

John grimaced as he tried to remove his vest, caked with blood; it was stuck to his left side. Each time he tried to coax the cotton away from his flesh his ribs protested painfully. He closed his eyes tightly, clenching his teeth to hold back a grunt.

Surprisingly warm and gentle hands pushed his own away. Wordlessly Faith grabbed the collar of his vest and gave a sharp tug. The sound of the cotton ripping was loud in the quiet room.

He let out the apprehensive breath he'd been holding and watched the woman his son had been so in love with it hurt as she grabbed one of his clean shirts, wet it in the bathroom then approached him.

As Faith began to minister to the wound on his side, John used the time to study the top of her head. Staring at the dirty sable locks, he wondered where the tormented Slayer that had taken a sword to a nest of demon eggs had gone.

He grunted as she probed the damaged flesh over his ribs.

"Sorry… Mohra banged you up real good Pops."

"You don't look like you fought the same shit Rufus and I did."

"Yeah comes with the Slayer package."

"Last year *_gasp_* Dean gave me the impression you were bout to meet the Maker when he met you."

Faith kept her head down as she felt for John's broken ribs. She didn't respond immediately, but when she did there was no inflection in her voice.

"You shoulda seen the demon I dropped. He's definitely warming a seat for me downstairs."

John mulled over her word choice.

"'Kay Daddy, you got four broken ribs over here. You also got an open wound, lucky for you it's just above your first broken rib. Don't think I can stitch it but I can patch it up then bind your ribs."

"Do it."

"Cool. Lemme get you somethin' to dull the pain."

She moved away from him, keeping her eyes averted, she rifled through his belongings and unearthed the bottle of Jack Daniels she'd spied earlier. Uncorking the bottle she took a big gulp of the whisky before cheerfully handing it to him.

Their eyes met, the fiery challenge in hers was the only thing stopping John from vocally passing judgment.

Drinking down a quarter of the bottle's contents, John nodded for Faith to proceed. With a grim smile she took the bottle from him, doused a wad of gauze then gently applied it to his wound. Taking his hand she pressed it against the makeshift dressing and guided him to her vacated chair.

Once he was seated she upended the motel bedspread and the contents of John's duffel onto the floor. Ripping the top sheet off the bed, she expertly ripped it into medium sized strips then turned around to face him. Sitting down she began to roll the strips up with an efficiency born from extended experience.

"Since we got a whole bunch of Slayer potentials to take care of where I'm from, you kinda have to become an amateur field medicine pro," she explained with a wry shrug.

John just watched her and wondered how he did not suspect something as unique as a Slayer in Reno last year.

The buzz he felt from the Jack Daniels was working its way through his blood making everything warm, and fuzzy around the edges. He understood more than Dean would know what had attracted his son to this girl and vice versa.

Kneeling in between John's legs she leaned forward to wrap the first strip around his torso. John kept his eyes shut; the slight pressure of Faith's belly on his chair generating a pang in his chest. He was the one who was supposed to be helping her, not vice versa. This felt wrong, so wrong. She was far too young to have to know about demons and the supernatural, special destinies, field medicine, ancient weapons and God knows what else she had been exposed to.

John wondered why Faith made him feel so protective and self-righteous when his own sons were in a similar situation. Dean and Sam may not have been raised to fight evil because they were predestined but they too had had to grow up way too fast. _Especially_ Dean.

Ribs securely bound Faith pushed away from him and strode over to the shaky table near the window, picking up the needle and thread she gestured to the bed with a quirk of her lips.

John realized what was making him so uneasy. Being with Faith felt like the early years of hunting after Mary's death. Dean had been the one to patch him up and make him feel selfishly blessed to have his kids and conversely depressed that in order to protect them he had to corrupt their innocence.

"I can't stitch your face on my knees Pops."

John flushed slightly, the image of Faith as one of his children dissolving.

He stumbled from the chair back onto the bed. Faith took out her lighter and sterilized the needle again, straddling him, she tilted his face up.

"Relax, I'm much better at sewing skin than curtains. Five minutes tops and you'll be good as new."

She let out a husky chuckle at John's expression.

"Now, this'll go a lot smoother if you don't move."

~x~

Washing his hands in the bathroom sink, John watched Faith's reflection in the mirror. She was shoving all his belongings back into the duffel bag she'd emptied earlier.

He splashed his face with water to dispel the cobwebs caused by half a bottle of Jack on top of blunt head trauma. Furtively studying the wound on his forehead he noted that she had conveniently left out the vital bit of information that she was as good at stitching wounds as she was at killing Mohra.

Faith stood by the bed, a cagey agitated set to her shoulders, she went to run her hands through her hair. The dirt, blood, eggshells and sea-water in her hair had set and she met resistance. John watched tensely as she stared down at her shaking fingers.

"You okay?"

Her head snapped up, and she hid her tremors by sliding her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.

"I'm five by five, why do you ask?"

John gave her a pointed look.

She raised her chin slightly, and adopted a casual pose, "Don't play serious Daddy with me… _Daddy_." Her lips twisted at the last word.

John cocked his head, his parental instincts rising up to the fore again, "Go take a shower, and I'll go get your stuff from your motel."

"What so you can go through my stuff?"

"Faith, you didn't bring anything with you. I just wanted to give you some time to get cleaned up while I go buy you a change of clothes and grab us a bite to eat. Or do pregnant Slayers not experience hunger?"

"Sorry," Faith dropped her aggressive stance and looked around the room sheepishly.

John watched her patiently as she hunched her shoulders and looked up at him with apologetic eyes, "I've got a locker at the bus depot with some stuff."

"Want me to go get it for you?"

"Sure."

She kicked off her left boot and a locker key landed on the carpet. Both her and John tried to bend down and pick it up. It was awkward for John because of his ribs and awkward for Faith because of her belly. John chuckled as Faith beat him to the key and handed it to him with a flourish.

"Thank God nobody's here to have seen that."

"Yeah I bet Dean woulda gotten a real kick out of seeing his old man out-manoeuvred by a pregnant chick."

"Okay, okay go shower!"

"You first."

"What?"

"Wow, I know hunters like to keep it in the family but damn. I'm not removing a single stitch of clothing til you're outta here Pops."

Fighting a creeping flush, John nodded in understanding before making a hasty retreat.

Faith watched the door shut with a grin on her face, already shrugging off her leather jacket.

Papa Winchester was a trip!

~x~

John made sure he announced his return with the heaviest tread and loudest whistling he could manage. Last thing he needed was to get his head chopped off by a jittery and pregnant slayer!

He unlocked the door and stepped into the room to find Faith wrapped in the remaining sheet from his bed and sitting in the chair. Hair clean, dry and spilling over her shoulders she stood up and held out her hands for the backpack John had retrieved at the bus depot.

She kept walking forward until he was in the doorway away again.

"Five minutes!"

She shut the door in his face.

John stared at the door blankly before heading back out to the truck to collect the food he'd bought.

~x~

When he got back, Faith was wearing yet another pair of black jeans, a black vest, grey hooded top and dark brown leather jacket. In the waste-basket in the bathroom were the clothes she had been wearing earlier.

She had pounced on the bags of food he'd brought resting the food on the bedside table as she ate all her food and more than half of his too.

Bare feet crossed at the ankles she was stretched out on the bed, her eyelids drooping as she fought sleep.

"You need to get some sleep."

"Why 'cause I'm knocked up?"

"No, because you're falling asleep."

Faith swung her feet onto the floor and made to get up, "No I gotta go check on Rufus and since the job's done it's time for me to motor."

John moved to stand in front of her but was careful not to touch her, putting on his most authoritative parent voice, he glared.

"Faith, it's only 4:30 p.m. the height of traffic in a big city like Miami. You won't be able to motor _anywhere_ fast right now. Slayer or not, you're tired and you're pregnant, get some rest. I'll lock the door when I go check on Rufus, now not another word from you."

She lay back on the bed, feebly pulling the sheet she'd used as a towel over her lower body.

"Fine. Whatever you say Daddy."

John made a frustrated sound as he walked to the door. He had been wrong before she did not just remind him of Dean, she reminded him of Sammy too.

'_Always had to have the last word_.'

Biting back a small smile, John left the motel room and went to check on Rufus.

~x~

**Post-note:**Hey am merging the verses, so the Rufus, Nikki Wood thing just seemed to fit, you know? Especially since we did have some mention of hunters when Wesley goes to LA and calls himself a 'Rogue Demon Hunter'… I seem to recall him mentioning how there are many that operate across America… so I ran with those common threads.

And since John had so many secrets from Sam and Dean (I remember reading a Kripke interview where he said that even after 4-5 seasons the boys were aware of only the tip of the iceberg with regard to the secrets their Dad kept. So it to totally made sense to me that while John was away in Season 1 he could have bumped into not only one Slayer but Faith in particular, found out she was preggo with Dean's baby and kept it a secret. I mean hey, Adam is a case in point. Hope it's not too much explainey and it's not really needed if you've read **Gimme Shelter**. (throws in some self-pimpage)

**Lastly, you guys this last part of the fic got so long I had to divide it into two. Part Four (last) part should be up next week at some point! **


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